Tiger Woods Criticizes LIV Golf, Greg Norman at British Open

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Tiger Woods, conspicuously enchanted by his improbable return to his sport’s oldest course, on Tuesday offered a forceful rebuke of the players, past and present, who have aligned themselves with the rebel Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.

He chided Greg Norman, the major champion-turned-LIV chief executive, for pursuits that are not “in the best interest of our game” and backed his effective banishment from this year’s British Open at St. Andrews. He said young players who were defecting from the PGA Tour had “turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.” And he cast doubt on whether LIV’s model — 54-hole, no-cut tournaments for players making guaranteed money — would allow golf and its top players to thrive.

“I can understand 54 holes is almost like a mandate when you get to the Senior Tour — the guys are a little bit older and a little more banged up — but when you’re at this young age and some of these kids — they really are kids who have gone from amateur golf into that organization — 72-hole tests are a part of it,” Woods, 46, said during a news conference two days before the Open’s scheduled start on Scotland’s coast.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/sports/golf/tiger-woods-liv-british-open.html